Week 19 - 'Ang on! That was days ago

It was only late last night I realised my week 19 date had come and gone and I had not blogged an update. What can I say? Time flies when you're taking a few days off the job.

I think it's probably fair to suggest that my Arthritis has stablised. <------ (update: 5:30pm - This was a stupid thing to say...... ) At least for me and what I can detect in myself, this feels a fair thing to say. Occasionally, my right ankle becomes a bit of a grump for a day, but this is honestly nothing when I compare it to how it was behaving before I commenced in the trial when there was only the occasional good day. Now, in terms of my overall symptomatic experiences, 95% of all days are good days.

Now, for an admission.

I failed to note in this diary in between now and my very first run attempt back in November, I had only once attempted another run just prior to Christmas. The reason I didn't mention it was because I failed to make a full kilometer before I decided to turn around and walk home quite pissed with things. I don't know really what happened to make it such a fail. I do k now it was cooler than I prefer, probably 18 degrees. And it was also very windy. The wind got in my ear, even with my music headphones in. Within a few minutes of getting started my ear was aching and the ache started to make it's way into my throat and my neck. It wasn't pleasant at all. The rest of me was wasn't performing either. I recall having to make an effort to will myself into giving it a go. In the past when I was running regularly, this generally worked in my favour and I'd normally end up pretty pleased with myself for pushing myself to go. On the odd occasion, the mind is stubborn and the body follows suit. So the combination of an impending throbbing headache and a petulant flesh caused me to admit defeat and try another day. But I was disappointed and to be honest, a little angry.

Since then there have been a variety of other factors made it difficult to summon the motivation I needed to try again. This include a couple of disappointments but also Christmas came along as did my Noosa/Sydney break. But yesterday that changed. The conditions were perfect. 21 degrees and not a whiff of wind on the horizon. I was in the mood to go. And in the afternoon, I did.

40 minutes and roughly 5.5km later I got home buzzing. Did my ankle hurt? A little while I was running. But the run was great. My body was willing and the spirits were high. I went further than I thought I would. I would have been content with less than 5km, because distance wasn't the priority. Getting my heart rate up and keeping it there for 45-50 minutes was the priority. I was only stopped by the horn of a car that was sailing past. It was my husband coming home from playing a round of golf Since we were only around a kilometer from home, I jumped in the car very satisfied with what I had done. At this point, there is no need to push things. The fact remains that yesterday I did close to 6km and accomplished 40 minutes of sustained exercise. And today, aside from a little muscle soreness in the legs, I feel perfectly fine. <------ (update: 5:30pm - Hindsight is a beautiful thing. Spoke too soon ...... )

That in itself is something to smile about. A reminder to forget about the last attempt. A reminder that I really do enjoy running.